The effect of alpha-tocopherol on the oxidative cleavage of beta-carotene
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Data
2000-07-15
Autores
Yeum, K. J.
Ferreira, ALD
Smith, D.
Krinsky, N. I.
Russell, R. M.
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Título de Volume
Editor
Elsevier B.V.
Resumo
Two cleavage pathways of beta-carotene have been proposed, one by central cleavage and the other by random (excentric) cleavage. The central cleavage pathway involves the metabolism of beta-carotene at the central double bond (15, 15') to produce retinal by beta-carotene 15, 15'-dioxygenase (E.C.888990988). The random cleavage of beta-carotene produces beta-apo-carotenoids, but the mechanism is not clear. To understand the various mechanisms of beta-carotene cleavage, beta-carotene was incubated with the intestinal postmitochondrial fractions of 10-week-old male rats for 1 h and cleavage products of beta-carotene were analyzed using reverse-phase, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). We also studied the effects of alpha-tocopherol and NAD(+)/NADH on beta-carotene cleavage. In addition to beta-carotene, we used retinal and beta-apo-14'-carotenoic acid as substrates in these incubations. Beta-apo-14'-carotenoic acid is the two-carbon longer homologue of retinoic acid. In the presence of alpha-tocopherol, beta-carotene was converted exclusively to retinal, whereas in the absence of alpha-tocopherol, both retinal and beta-apo-carotenoids were formed. Retinoic acid was produced from both retinal and beta-apo-14'-carotenoic acid incubations only in the presence of NAD(+). Our data suggest that in the presence of an antioxidant such as alpha-tocopherol, beta-carotene is converted exclusively to retinal by central cleavage. In the absence of an antioxidant, beta-carotene is cleaved randomly by enzyme-related radicals to produce beta-apo-carotenoids, and these beta-apo-carotenoids can be oxidized further to retinoic acid via retinal. (C) 2000 Elsevier B.V.
Descrição
Palavras-chave
central cleavage, random cleavage, oxidation products, retinal, retinoic acid, beta-carotene, beta-apo-carotenoids, beta-carotene 15, 15 '-dioxygenase, free radicals
Como citar
Free Radical Biology and Medicine. Oxford: Pergamon-Elsevier B.V., v. 29, n. 2, p. 105-114, 2000.